Remember how IBM predicted in its annual technology outlook that five years into the future we’ll have sensors to measure the smell of any object?

Not content with waiting that long, Adamant Technologies, a San Francisco startup, has created a chip that uses tiny sensors which “take the sense of smell and taste and digitize them”. They call it halitosis, or bad breath tracking.

Now, iPhone apps from Adamant are still some time away because the company is just getting ready to mass produce the silicon in a plant in Austin, Texas. The chips will go into a sub-$100 iPhone dongle that should take the standard hand-to-mouth sniff test to the next level…

The sense of smell he’s developed is pretty sophisticated, too, he says. The average human nose has about 400 “sensors” that pick out various chemicals in the air and identify them (like knowing what pizza smells like). Adamant’s tech has about 2,000 sensors, which is akin to a dog’s nose, Khamis explained.

In addition to bad breath tracking, Adamant is planning to release a range of other iPhone apps, including realtime metabolic tracking and breathalyzer apps that can monitor medical conditions, like diabetes or test blood alcohol.

IBM in its ‘5 in 5’ feature predicted that, as the technology advances over the next five years, we’ll see devices that can “smell potential diseases that feed back into a cognitive system to tell us if they suspect a possible health issue”.

If IBM is right, five years from today machines in our pocket will accurately replicate all five human senses.

For instance, Big Blue is calling for substantial advancements in machine-aided sight, hearing and taste, in addition to enhancements to touch technologies allowing one to feel the touch of the fabric and reproduce textures via vibrations and other technologies.

We also reported on another upcoming dongle from a Russian startup. Priced at around $220 a piece, it promises to add a range of life sensors to your iPhone capable of detecting radiation, electromagnetic fields, humidity, temperature – and even determine how organic your food is.